Game apparatus



W. G. HAWLEY GAME APPARATUS Original Filed Jan. 21, 1936 INVENTDR March1,

Patented Mar. 1, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Original applicationJanuary 21, 1936, Serial No. 60,083. Divided and this applicationOctober 23, 1936, Serial No. 107,267

11 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in a game apparatus and pertain-smore particularly to a portable or miniature bowling game adapted to beused in the home, the club and various places of amusement. The instantapplication is a division of my co-pending application Serial Number60,083 filed January 21, 1936.

An object of the invention is to provide a game of the above mentionedclass with an improved mechanical means for actuating or propelling amissile constituting a portion of the apparatus.

Another object of the invention is to provide 'novel means for bringingthe missile into operative relation with the actuating or propellingmeans.

Other objects and advantages pertaining to the structure of the deviceand to the form and relation of the parts thereof will more fully appearfrom the following description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan View of a game embodying my invention andillustrating intermediate portions thereof broken away.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional View partly in elevation takensubstantially in the plane of the line 22, Figure 1.

. Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 33, Figure 4.

Figure 4 is a detail vertical sectional view of the forward end portionof the game board or table taken in the plane of the line 4-4, Figure 3.

The device as illustrated in the drawing, comprises a portable gameboard or table I of the rectangular shape of a bowling alley and whichis braces 3. The board or table I comprises a longitudinally extendingcentrally located alley bed 5 and side gutters 6 which are inclined fromopposite ends of the board or table I downwardly to a position arelatively short distance from the forward end of the table, asillustrated in Figure 2 where each gutter is provided with a verticalportion 6' in communication with a runway 1 arranged at the forward endof the table beneath the alley bed 5. The runway l, as shown in Figure1, is provided with a tapered portion 1' communicating with the gutterportions 6' and a relatively narrow channel portion 1" which extendsforwardly from the tapered portion 1 to the forward end of the table Iin a plane substantially midway between the sides of the alley bed 5.The bottom or floor 8 of the runway I is inclined downwardly from therear end thereof to the forward end of the table for guiding thesupported upon suitable legs 2 reinforced by' which have the endsthereof secured in any suitable manner to corresponding end brackets I2secured to the end of the table I, one at either side thereof. Thecarriage I0 is of less width than the distance between the brackets 12so as to permit a predetermined amount of movement of the carriagelaterally of the table. The carriage I0 is provided with a centralopening l3 which extends transversely therethrough for the reception ofa projector [4.

The projector l4 comprises a tubular case I5 of less diameter than theopening I3 and which extends beyond opposite sides of the carriage H).The inner end of the case l5 terminates over the alley bed 5 and issecured to a pivotal spindle l8 which extends upwardly therefrom throughaligned apertures provided in a U-shaped bracket l1 secured to the upperportion of the carriage ID. The opposite end of the case I5 is providedwith a cap I8 which may be removably secured in any suitable manner asby one or more set screws I 9 to the case l5 to prevent relative axialand rotary movement of the case and cap. The interior of the tubularcase I5 is of sufficient diameter to readily receive the missile 9therein and has mounted therein a plunger 29 having a plunger rod 2|mounted for axial and rotary movement in a guide sleeve 22 fixedlysecured in any suitable manner as by spot welding,

soldering or the like, to the cap l8 and which projects some distancefrom the cap l8 into the case l5. The rod 2| extends outwardly beyondthe cap 18 and sleeve 22 and has secured thereto in any suitable mannera finger knob 24 by which the plunger may be manually operated.

A coil spring 25 is mounted upon the plunger rod 2! and guide sleeve 22intermediate the plunger 20 and cap 18 for actuating the plunger axiallyin one direction. This spring has one end thereof secured to the plunger2| and the other end secured to the cap IS in the manner illustrated inFigure 4 for yieldingly maintaining the plunger against rotary movement.That is, the spring 25 functions to yieldingly maintain the plungeragainst rotation relative to the housing l5, and if the plunger is thusrotated as by hand against the action of the spring, the spring willreturn the plunger to its initial position by rotating the same upon theplunger being released in the reverse direction to that produced byhand.- irrespective of the direction in which the plunger was initiallyrotated. The plunger rod 2| is provided with a pin 26 which extendsoutwardly from one side of the rod into an elongated slot 22' formed inone side of the guide sleeve 22 intermediate the ends thereof as shownin Figures 3 and 4 for limiting the rotary movement of the rod and theplunger 20. The inner end of the plunger 20 is recessed and has securedin said recess an end tip 29 composed preferably of rubber or otherresilient material. The exposed end of the tip 29 is slightly concave asat 29' to correspond to the curvature of the'peripheral surface of theball 9 for frictionally engaging said surface for the purpose oftransmitting any rotary movement of the plunger produced by the spring25 to the missile or ball 9 during the projection of the ball for apurpose presently described.

At the forward end of the table is provided a vertically disposedcylindrical opening 30 of slightly greater diameter than the ball 9 andwhich extends downwardly from the upper surface of the alley bed 5 tosome distance below! the table I as illustrated in Figures 2 and 4. Thisopening 39 is arranged in substantially co-axial alignment with thepivotal spindle I6 when the carriage I is in its normal position and isin; communication with the forward end of the channel portion 1 of therunway I. In the opening 30 is slidably mounted a lifting or feedingplunger 3| which is of sufficient length to extend from the upper faceof the bed downwardly to a position beneath the channel 1" and hassecured to the lower end portion thereof a pair of pins 32 spacedaxially of the plunger 3| and which extend laterally from the plungerthrough an elongated slot 33 provided in the side wall 34 of the opening30 as shown in Figures 2 and 4. The pins 32 project some distance beyondthe wall 34 and receive therebetween an actuating spring 35. I

V The spring 35, in this instance is a flat bar\ shaped member arrangedbeneath the table l and has the inner end thereof secured to a block 36secured to the lower face of the alley bed 5 some distance from theforward end of the table as shown in Figure 2. The forward end of thespring extends a short distance beyond the pins 32 and end of the tablein convenient position to be engaged by the player for moving theplunger 3| downwardly. The plunger is thus moved downwardly against theaction of spring 35 to align the upper end thereof with the bottom 8 ofthe channel 1 whereby the missile or ball 9 will roll upon the upper endof the plunger so that as said plunger is returned to its normaluppermost position, the missile or ball will be elevated thereby intooperative alignment with the alley bed 5 and projector M.

The alley bed 5 is designed to be maintained in substantially a level orhorizontal position while the case |5 of the projector I4 is mounted onthe carriage III in slightly inclined relation to the upper surface ofthe bed 5 as illustrated in Figure 4:. The forward end portion of thecase I5 has the lower side wall thereof cut away as )at 31 to receivethe ball 9 carried by the plunger 3| into the interior thereof. Whilethe plunger 20 is so mounted in the housing l5 that the tip 29 will bemaintained in slightly outward spaced relation to the plane of movementof the plunger 3| so that as the ball or missile 9 is elevated by theplunger 3| into alignment with the bed 5,

said ball or missile may roll into contact with the tip 29. Thismovement of the ball toward the plunger is effected by the upper end 3|of the plunger 3| which is slightly inclined relative to the horizontalso as to provide a smooth, substantially continuous surface over theopening 39 from the interior of the case l5 to the upper surface of thealley bed 5 when the plunger 3| is in its normal uppermost position.Furthermore, the inclined end 3| of the plunger assists in maintainingthe ball 9 in engagement with the plunger during the elevation of theball due to the fact that the ball is caused to roll thereby intocontact with the front wall 39 of the opening 30 and maintained in suchposition until the plunger is returned to its normal position.

It will now be observed that when the spindle I6 is in co-axialalignment with the plunger 3|, the ball or missile 9 will always bebrought by said plunger to a position within the case |5 irrespective ofany angular position the case |5 may assume about the spindle I6 as apivot. In order to normally maintain the spindle H5 in co-axialalignment with the plunger 3|, I have provided a spring member 40 which,like the spring member 35, is a substantially fiat bar member and isarranged edgewise beneath the game board The spring 40 is secured at itsinner end as at 42 to one side of the game board while the outer end ofthe spring extends beneath the guide bars II and rides in a slot 43provided in a pendant arm 43 secured at its upper end to the carriageIll. The relation of the arm 43 and spring 40 is such that when thespring is in its normal position, the carriage It] will be maintainedsubstantially midway between the end brackets |2 with the spindle IS inco-axial alignment with the plunger 3|.

The bowling pins 45 used with the table I may be of conventional or anyother suitable construction. Furthermore the pins 45 may be positionedupon the alley bed 5 at the end thereof opposite the projector M in anysuitable manner to bring them into playing relation with the projector.That is, the pins 45 may be placed in playing position on the alley bedby manually manipulating the pins in the usual manner or by the aid of asuitable pin resetting device as illustrated in the drawing. However, asthe particular manner of resetting the bowling pins after having beenknocked over by the bowling ball forms no part of the present invention,it is believed that further description of this feature is unnecessaryand will therefore be dispensed with.

It will now be observed from the foregoing description that the missileor ball 9 may be actuated in much the same manner as on the large,regulation size bowling alley. This is primarily due to the universalpositioning of the projector H which may be obtained. For instance, theprojector may be swung about the axis of the spindle Hi to obtain anydesired angular relation thereof to the bowling alley bed and the pins45 mounted thereon. Furthermore, the projector may be moved laterally ofthe alley bed 5 by sliding the carriage ID in one direction or the otherfrom the normal position along the guide bars against the action of thespring 42. As soon, however, as the carriage I0 is released by theoperator the spring 42 will function to return the carriage and,therefore, the projector l4, to the normal position in a planesubstantially midway between the sides of the bowling alley bed 5 withthe spindle H5 in co-axial alignment with the plunger 3|.

After a ball 9 has been propelled by'the'projector plunger 29, anotherball may be brought into operative relation with the projector by theoperator simply pressing downwardly uponthe forward or free end of thespring 35 until the upper end 3| of theplunger 3| 'registers'with theupper surface of the bottom 8 whereupon the ball 9 will roll upon theupper end of the plunger due to the inclination of the bottom 8 and endM of the plunger. As the spring 35 is then released, the plunger will beraised by the action of the spring until the uppermost pin 32 engagesthe wall at the upper end of the slot 33 whereupon the upper end 3! ofthe plunger will align with the upper surface of the bed and the ballwill be maintained in operative alignment with the plunger 2! As theplunger 20 is moved axially outwardly by the operator against the actionof the spring 25, the spring may be also tensioned circumferentially bythe operator rotating the plunger through the medium of the finger knob24 in one direction or the other. It will be obvious that when thespring 25 has been so tensioned that as the plunger is released, thespring will produce a corresponding rotary movement of the plunger whichwill be transmitted to the ball 9 by the engagement of the tip 29 withthe ball, and thereby produce a spinning of the ball around thehorizontal axis thereof simultaneously with the projection of the ballwhereby the ball will have a greater degree of lateral movement thanthat normally obtained when the ball is merely rolled forwardly upon theengagement thereof with an object such as a bowling pin, therebyobtaining an effect similar to the effect produced when Englishing theball with a cue.

When one or more of the bowling pins 45 have been knocked down by a ball9, the pin or pins may be reset in proper relation with the bowlingalley bed and with each other in any suitable manner.

Although the construction and operation of the device shown anddescribed, are particularly simple, practical and efficient, it isevident that various changes may be made in the detailed constructionwithout departing from the spirit of the invention as set forth in theappended claims.

I claim:

1. In a game of the class described, a projector comprising a case, amanually operated plunger mounted for both'reciprocative and rotarymovements in said case, and a spring for moving said plunger axially inone direction, said spring being secured to the plunger and to the casewhereby said spring may be placed under torsional tension for rotatingthe plunger during said axial movement thereof in the manner and for thepurpose set forth.

2. In a game apparatus, a projector comprising a supporting member, aplunger operatively connected with the supporting member for both axialand rotary movements with respect thereto, and means including a springcoacting with said support rendered effective by axial and rotarymovements of the plunger from a normal position to a retracted positionfor moving said plunger axially to return the same to the normalposition and for rotating said plunger during said axial movementthereof for the purpose set forth.

3. In a game apparatus, a projector comprising a case, a plunger mountedin said case for both axial and rotary movements, means connected withthe plunger whereby said plunger j 3 may be 'manually'moved axially"from a normal extended position to a retracted position *within thecase and also rotated on its axis in one dimotion, and means including atorsional spring connected with the plunger and with the case-renderedeffective by said axial and rotary movements of the plungerupon the latter being man'- ually released for producing axial androtary movement of said plunger in directions reverse to the directionsof said first mentioned axial and rotary movements to return the plungerto said normal extended position, whereby a ball projected by saidplunger will be simultaneously rotated thereby in adirectionsubstantially normal to said direction of projection.

4. A game apparatus as in claim 3 having a supporting surface formaintaining a ball in co-operative relation with the projector, saidsupporting surface and the direction of axial movement of the plungerbeing inclined to the horizontal whereby the ball will follow theplunger during said movement thereof from the normal extended positionto the retracted position.

5. A game apparatus as in claim 3 wherein the projector is mounted forlateral movement relative to the axial movement of the plunger wherebythe direction of projection of the ball may be varied.

6. A game apparatus as in claim 3 wherein means connected with plungerand with the case co-act to limit the rotary movement of the plunger.

'7. A projector for a game board comprising a case inclined relative tothe horizontal, a plunger mounted in said case for both reciprocativeand rotary movements, said plunger being adapted to be manually movedrearwardly into said case, and mechanical means operatively connectedwith the plunger and with the case and rendered effective by rearwardaxial and rotary movements of the plunger for simultaneously producingforward axial movement and rotary movement of the plunger about its axiswhen said plunger is manually released at the end of its rearwardstroke.

8. A projector for a game boardcomprising a supporting member, a plungeroperatively connected with the supporting member for both axial androtary movements from a normal forward position to a retracted setposition, and means for moving the plunger from the forward to theretracted position, and mechanical means operatively connected with theplunger and with the supporting member rendered effective by said axialmovement of the plunger from the forward to the. retracted position andby rotary movement thereof about its axis for simultaneously producingforward axial movement and rotary movement of the plunger about its axisto return said plunger to said normal position.

9. In a game apparatus, a missile projector, and supporting means forsaid projector including a pivotal member so arranged that the projectormay swing laterally, said projector having a missile receiving apertureand said pivotal member being so located adjacent said missile receivingaperture that the position of said aperture is substantially unaffectedby the swinging movement of said projector.

10. In a game apparatus, a missile projector, and supporting means forsaid projector comprising a carriage movable into and out of apredetermined normal position, means connecting tially unafiected bysaid lateral swinging movement of said projector.

11. A game apparatus as in claim 10 having actuating means operativelyconnected with the carriage for yieldingly maintaining said carriage 5in said normal position.

WILLIAM G. HAWLEY.

